Archives for July 2012

The Shishito pepper comes from Japan, and the Pimientos de Padron pepper from northern Spain, however they are very similar and we can grow it right here in NJ. This little green delicate pepper can be a gamble. One out of ten is supposedly spicy hot, while the rest have a mild flavor. Saute the pepper in oil just until the skin blisters and then toss with sea salt with a bit of lemon juice.

Onions take a good amount of work to grow. First we direct seed into open flats in the greenhouse in February. When they size up we pull them out of the flats, trim the roots and tops, and pot them on to 128 cell flats. From here they make their way into the field when the soil in the field is warm enough. This past week we pulled all of our red onions, let them dry out in the field for the day, and will cure them in our barn. Curing adds flavor to the onion and preserves their shelf life.

Pasture raised chicken eggs are packed with nutrients and flavor. Our flock of 50 laying hens have access to our meadow and have a very nice permanent coop with a fully screened in chicken yard. They like to go out into the meadow in the morning to find bugs and munch on some greens, and usually retreat to the fenced in yard in the afternoon for some shade. Any day know we will have our first eggs. We purchase our feed from Panorama Organics in Oley, PA. They are working on their official organic registration, which means they are not yet certified but practice all of the procedures. They are great at eating our vegetable scraps as well!